Drawer guide



C M. SKAMSER July 3, 1951 DRAWER GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1,1950 C. M SKAMSER EL/ W AGENT July 3, 1951 c. M. SKAMSER 2,559,322

DRAWER GUIDE Filed April 1, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5 PEG. 6

INVENTOR.

c. M SKAMSER AGENT Patented July 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEDRAWER GUIDE Clarence M. Skamser, Superior, Wis.

Application April 1, 1950, Serial No. 153,312

6 Claims. (Cl. 312-346) 1 This invention relates to drawer slides. It iswell known, to those who make and sell furniture and the like, thatdrawers cause many and varied difficulties and headaches. For example,when new furniture is made, the wood used may not be thoroughlyseasoned, yet the drawers must be made to fit and slide as perfectly aspossible before the furniture is shipped. When the furniture arrives atits destination, it may be stored or displayed in a warm, dry room andthe wood will dry out. This results in the furniture frame or cabinetshrinking and possibly twisting to some extent. When this happens, thedrawers do not fit properly and do not work properly. As a result, thedrawers must be re-set and aligned.

One form of drawer slide in furniture comprises a grooved wooden membercarried on the frame and a cooperative slide carried on the drawer.There are others of course; however, in almost every case, the slidesare glued in place. In order to adjust the position of the drawers sothat they will be in proper alignment, at least one of the slides mustbe removed and repositioned. Frequently the removal of the slide resultsin the breaking of same, or, at least, the slide is splintered. Inaddition, the job of repositioning the slide is made more difficultbecause of the dried glue, etc., which is left when the slide is removedand which it is difficult to remove entirely. In addition, the cabinetis entirely complete and it is diflicult to get at the parts to work onsame.

It is, therefore, one of my principal objects to provide a guide orslide device which is readily adjustable to permit the repositioning ofa drawer, or the like, within the opening in which it is carried.

Another object is to provide a combination drawer slide and cushion stopwhereby the shocks of closing a drawer are not abusive to the cabinet ordrawer.

Another object is to provide a drawer slide comprising two major pieceswhich are slidably united, one piece being secured to the drawer, andthe other being carried by the frame of the cabinet or furniture, thepieces being designed to guide the drawer in its reciprocation andinsure its aligned travel at all times.

Another object is to provide novel means for adjusting the position ofthe slide within a drawer opening so that the position of the drawer maybe readily varied to align the drawer in its opening.

Another object is to provide means for securing one portion of thedrawer slide to a drawer,

whereby the same slide size may be used on various sizes of drawers.

Another object is to provide a drawer slide device which reinforces theframe of the cabinet in which it is mounted to provide a more rigidstructure, and which reinforces the drawer.

Another object is to provide a drawer slide in which it is very easy toinstall a drawer within its opening by having one member of the slideextend beyond the back of the drawer so that the sliding members may beunited in ones full view.

Another object is to install a drawer slide member on a drawer withoutweakening the drawer front.

These, and other objects and advantages, will become more apparent asthe description of the invention proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application: I

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a furniture cabinet showingone of my drawer slides in place.

Fig. 2 is a broken perspective view of the member of the slide devicewhich is mounted on the drawer.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the member of the slide device which ismounted in the drawer frame.

Fig. 4 is a broken rear elevational view of the two slide device membersin assembled relation.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an adjustable bracket for mounting onthe rear portion of the slide to permit the use of the slides on drawersof varying lengths.

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the rear face of the bracket shown in Fig.5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the details of theadjusting and cushioning parts of my drawer slide.

In the drawings, the reference numeral I indicates the cabinet of apiece of furniture, 2 and 3 indicate frame members which runtransversely of the cabinet and define the lower extremities of a draweropening, one 'member at the front and one member at the back of thedrawer opening. These latter members might be adequately referred to asthe base of the drawer opening. The numeral 4 indicates a verticalmember of the outer or front frame of the drawer opening.

Every drawer comprises a front 5, a back 6, sides I, and a bottom 8, andusually the bottom of the drawer is spaced upwardly of the lower edge ofthe drawer front as shown.

My slide or guide device comprises a fixed member 9 and a sliding memberI0, the fixed member being secured to the base of the drawer opening,which, in this case, is the transverse frame members 2 and 3. The member9 is, preferably, a single piece of metal having a rectangularcross-section. The upper edges H of the member 9 are preferably bentoutwardly as shown to form a flat supporting surface on which thesliding member may rest and slide, and the outer wall l2 of the metalfrom which the member 9 is made, is preferably bent downwardly, thepurpose of which will become apparent.

The member 9 is provided with a hole or opening 4% adjacent its frontand rear ends, as shown, the hole being considerably larger than anybolt or other fastening means which may be employed to secure the member9 to the frame members 2 and 3. A piece of resilient material l4,preferably rubber, is mounted between and abutting the opposed sidewalls l5l5 of the member 9, over each of the openings 40. Each of theresilient members has an opening it therethrough in registry with itsadjacent opening 4s. A bolt ii is employed through each of the pairs ofopenings lillB to secure the member 9 to the frame members 2 and 3, anupwardly arched spring steel clamp [8 being provided adjacent the boltheads to extend over the openings it and engage the resilient member Mand support the bolt. A sleeve nut 13 is provided on the under side ofeach of the frame members 2 and 3 so that the bolts may extend throughholes in the members 2 and 3 and be engaged in the sleeve nuts. Prongsor lugs i9 are preferably provided on the flanged head portion of thesleeve nuts so that they may be engaged in the frame members to preventthe nuts from turning when the bolts ll are tightened by means of ascrew driver or the like.

As the bolts are tightened, the outer ends of the clamps I8 dig into theresilient member and provide a non-slip, secure fastening for the member9 to the frame members 2 and 3. It is preferred that the openings 48 berectangular in shape and that the holes it have rounded corners and beslightly smaller than the holes 40 so that the resilient member will becompressed to overlap the edges of the holes 49 and prevent any slippingof the member 9 from its appointed position as clearly shown in Fig. 7of the drawings.

In addition, when the resilient member is compressed, it is forcedagainst the side walls |5-l5 of the member 9 and is held firmly inposition.

It is deemed apparent, from the above, that the slide member 9 may beplaced in its desired position when the bolts H are loosened, and heldsecurely in that position when the bolts are tightened into place tocompress the resilientmember Hi.

In addition, the secure installation of the member 9 in a cabinet will,obviously, reinforce the frame of the cabinet.

The sliding member ID of the instant device is secured to the drawer,along the bottom thereof as shown in Fig. l, and may comprise a singlepiece of metal as shown in Fig. 2. The member it is preferablyrectangular in cross section and is of a size to fit over he member 9 asshown in Fig. 4. The upper portion of the member i9 is preferably fiatand the inner face thereof may, if desired, engage the supportingsurfaces ll of the bottom member to carry the drawer. The sides 21: ofthe member if) extend downwardly from the upper face thereof and thelower walls 2! of the member It are bent inwardly to overlap the loweredge of the outer walls it of the member Q, but the walls 2| are abovethe lower extremity of the member 9, as shown in Fig. 4, so that therewill be no friction or drag from the walls 2! engaging any part of thedrawer opening frame.

The inner face of the wall 2! engages the lower edge of the wall l2 ofthe member 9 to prevent the members 9 and It from being disassembled inany way except longitudinal sliding, and, also, this prevents a drawerfrom tipping downwardly to any great extent when it is pulled out veryfar, thereby maintaining horizontal alinement of the drawer.

The member [ii is preferably secured to the bottom of a drawer,centrally and longitudinally thereof. As means to secure the member IDto the drawer, I prefer to make a saw cut in the inner face of thedrawer front 5 in line with the bottom surface of the drawer bottom 8. Alip or projection 22 is provided on the forward end of the member if] toextend into the said saw out, and a crease or slit 23 is pressed intothe projection or lip 22, from the under side thereof, so that a nail,or the like, may be driven from the bottom edge of the drawer front 5through the slit 23 to anchor the lip in place. If the slit is longerthan necessary so that it extends outwardly from the saw cut, it willindicate the exact position in which to nail. The slit will readily opento receive the nail, having been pressed from the under side of the lip,but will not permit removing the nail very easily as any pull, to try tobring the nail back through the slit, will clamp the edges of the slitinto the nail and prevent its removal.

A hole 24 may be provided about centrally of the member [0 to providemeans for fastening the member It to the drawer bottom 8 ap proximatelycentrally thereof. A lug 25 may be struck from the member It and bent toextend upwardly therefrom normal to the member. This lug 25 shouldengage the back. 6 of the drawer, as shown, and is provided with a hole25 whereby it may be securely fastened to the drawer. Obviously, theposition of the lug 25 is governed by the length of the drawer.

Thus, the member It is securely fastened to the drawer, on the bottomthereof, and when the member It is engaged over the member 9 as shown inFig. 4, the drawer may be moved in and out easily, and the drawer slide9-Iil will guide the movement of same. In addition, the slide 9-lfl willcontrol the position of the drawer in the drawer opening, which positionmay be adjusted by loosening the bolts I! and changing the position ofthe member 9 as above described.

When a manufacturer installs the instant drawer slides m his furniture,it will be a simple matter for a dealer to quickly correct the positionof the drawers if and when necessary. In addition, the final owner ofthe furniture may make adjustments whenever necessary without the needfor skilled assistance or special tools.

The reciprocation of a drawer equipped with my slides will not beaffected by weatheror climate, obviously as the metal parts are notsubject to change by weather variations.

To facilitate installing drawers in their drawer openings when equippedwith my slides 9-18, I prefer to have the slide members extend beyondthe back 6 of the drawer as at 27 so that the member I may be positionedon the member 9 while the back 6 of thedrawer is still inches away fromthe drawer opening, thereby permitting one to see clearly what he isdoing.

In addition to facilitating the installation of drawers in theiropenings, this feature permits the drawers to be pulled out all the waywithout dropping to the floor, as the slide is an inch or two longerthan the drawer, thus avoiding unpleasant accidents.

An additional feature of my invention is that the resilient member l4serves a dual purpose by acting as a cushioning stop for the drawer. Theresilient member i4 extends beyond the member 9 a suitable distance,such as to of an inch as shown at 28, and the front end of the member I0 is closed by means of end walls 29. When the drawer is closed, the endwalls 29 engage the outwardly projecting end 3i] of the resilient memberand cushions the stopping of the drawer.

It is to be noted that the cushioning stress or shock is borne by thedrawer slides themselves rather than the drawer front, or the rear edgesof the drawer as is common in the art. The drawer slide 9l0 is fixed tothe furniture piece securely, and the stress and shock is distributed bythe slides. This, obviously, is an advantageous feature.

In addition, there is no noise when drawers are slammed shut, assometimes happens.

I have provided a pair of lugs Ill-3| to hold each of the inner ends ofthe resilient member from sliding when the drawer is closed, andthereby, further means is provided to prevent the drawer slides frommoving out of place when the drawers are closed. The lugs 3|3l overlapthe top of the members 14 as at 32 to prevent the member M from bucklingwhen it is compressed by the bolts H.

In Figs. and 6 I have shown an adjustable, preferably sheet metal,bracket for mounting on the rear end of the member ID for securing thelatter to a drawer. The bracket has its lower end members 32-32 bent toa shape corresponding to that of the member It so that the bracket maybe slidably mounted on the member as shown in dotted lines. Theupstanding portion of the bracket is composed of a pair of side members33-33 extending upwardly from the ends 32, and a lug 34 is carried onthe upper r end of the side members, the lug having a hole 35 therein toreceive a fastener, such as a screw, for securing the bracket to theback member 6 of a drawer.

The slide members are preferably substantially right triangular inshape, tapering from their rear edges upwardly as shown, and the taperededges of the sides are joined by a spacer 36. This construction providesa very strong bracket which will not bend or give under any stress whichmay be applied to same in normal use.

When the member [0 is mounted on a drawer bottom, the instant bracketmay be slid on the member until it engages the back of the drawer, thena screw, or the like, may be installed through the hole 35 to secure thebracket to the drawer. In order to secure the bracket to the member I0,I have provided a bolt 31 which extends through the side members 3333,and has a spring steel nut 35 thereon as shown. By tightening the bolt,the free, perpendicular edges of the side members are pulled together,and, of course, the lower ends 32 of the bracket are pulled together andmay be clamped securely on the member l0.

This adjustable bracket will, obviously,-permit one standard size of mydrawer slide to be used on drawers of various lengths.

It is deemed apparent that while I have here shown the preferred form ofmy invention, various modifications of same may be made within the scopeof the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A device for guiding a drawer in its in and out movement in respectto a drawer opening of a cabinet comprising: a pair of elongated memberstelescopically united, means on one of said members for securing same tosaid drawer on the bottom thereof, means on the second one of saidmembers for securing same in engagement with said cabinet within saidopening, and means for adjusting the position of said second memberwithin said opening, said last mentioned means comprising resilientmembers having openings therethrough, one of said resilient membersbeing carried at each end of said second member, said second memberhaving openings therethrough larger than and alined with the openings insaid resilient members to permit the shifting of the position of saidsecond member on said cabinet, and fastening means extending throughsaid openings and engaged at one end on said resilient members and atthe opposite end on said cabinet whereby said fastening means may betightened to compress said resilient member into said opening in saidsecond member to hold the latter in place.

2. The structure as set forth in claim 1 and portions of said resilientmembers extending beyond said second member to engage said drawer as itmoves into said opening to cushion the stopping thereof.

3. In combination with a cabinet having a drawer and a drawer openingdefined by means of frame members; a drawer guide comprising twotelescopically united members, one of said members being secured to thedrawer on the bottom thereof, means on the other member for securingsame to said frame in the bottom of said opening, said means comprisinga resilient member carried on said second member adjacent each endthereof, said second member having a relatively large opening througheach end thereof between said resilient members and said frame membersto permit adjustment of the position of said second member, saidresilient member having an opening therethrough of lesser size to firstsaid opening and in substantial alinement with the latter, and fasteningmeans extending through said openings and engaged at one end on saidframe members and at the other over said resilient member whereby thetightening of said fastening means will force portions of said resilientmembers into first said openings toprevent movement of said secondmember on said frame members.

4. The structure as set forth in claim 3 and. said second member havingside walls, said resilient members being in engagement with portions ofsaid side walls to assist in holding said second member in place whensaid fastening means are tightened, and said opening in said resilientmember being larger than the diameter of said fastening means yet lessthan the diameter of first said opening to permit said second member tobe moved if desired.

5. The structure as set forth in claim 1 and said fastening deviceincluding an enlarged washer-like member having substantially squarededges to engage into said resilient member when said fastening means. istightened.

6. The structure as set forth in claim 1 and a lug pressed upwardly fromthe first said one of said members, said lug fonming means to securesaid first one of said members to the back of said drawer.

CLARENCE M. SKAMSER.

file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Brown Jan. 14, 1890 Hall July 10,1923 Vogt Dec. 23, 1930 Barili Feb. 24, 1931 Haley Apr. 5', 1938 HarmonJan. 3, 1939 Thompson Sept. 16, 1941 Marzolf Aug. 18, 1942 Boddy May 4,1943 Lindberg et a1 Apr. 17, 1945 Wherry Nov. 23, 1948 Johnson Nov. 22,1949

